Lawyer Suspended 60 Days for Rude Remarks to Judge Not Sorry, Says He'll Be on Beach If Appeal Loses

A lawyer suspended 60 days for the rude remarks he made to a Tennessee judge during a 2008 medical malpractice trial plans to appeal the legal ethics penalty.

But regardless of what happens, attorney R. Sadler Bailey told the Commercial Appeal, he isn’t sorry he spoke to Circuit Court Judge Karen Williams as he did.

“If I’m unsuccessful on appeal, I will be sitting on a beach for 60 days with a coconut rum and enjoying the time with my children,” said Bailey, “but I will not be remorseful.”

Initially held in criminal contempt by Williams and sentenced to 10 days in jail, Bailey later saw the misdemeanor charge against him dismissed after an appeals court had another judge hear it. Meanwhile, Williams had declared a mistrial in the med-mal case, saying that she had no choice to do so because of Bailey’s rude remarks to her. The case later settled.

Among other comments, Bailey called one of her rulings “crazy” and one of her statements “bizarre.”